Diablo 4 Necromancer Class Guide

In Diablo 4, the Necromancer class revolves around manipulating the forces of life and death, utilizing blood, bone, and curses. By default, players can use the Raise Skeleton spell to create skeletal allies from the corpses of defeated enemies, indicated by a red aura around the corpse.

Additionally, the Necromancer class introduces a distinctive feature known as the Book of the Dead, which becomes accessible at level 5. As you level up, you can unlock new types of minions to summon and passive abilities that modify their behavior.

Diablo 4 Necromancer Basic skills

Reap 

Sweep a scythe in front of you to deal damage; hitting an enemy improves your damage reduction.

• Enhanced – If an enemy hit by Reap dies within two seconds, gain +30% attack speed for three seconds.
• Acolyte’s – Forms a corpse under the first enemy hit; can occur every five seconds.
• Initiate’s – Instantly kills targets below 5% HP; does not work on bosses or players.

Decompose

Deals damage-per-second and forms a usable corpse.

• Enhanced – +10 essence if an enemy dies while being Decomposed.
• Acolyte’s – You and your minions deal +10% damage to enemies affected by Decompose.
• Initiate’s – Slows enemies down by 30%.

Hemorrhage

Burst an enemy’s blood to deal damage; 20% chance to form a Blood Orb (i.e., pick up to be healed for 15% of your max HP).

• Enhanced – After picking up a Blood Orb, your next Hemorrhage deals damage to enemies around your target; grant +2 essence per enemy hit.
• Acolyte’s – +20% attack speed if you’re healthy (80% HP or more).
• Initiate’s – Grants a percentage to turn part of your base life into fortify (i.e., bonus amount over HP and 10% reduced damage); extra chance for hits to grant a higher bonus.

Bone Splinters

Shoot three bone projectiles; gain +1 essence for each subsequent time an enemy is hit by the same cast.

• Enhanced – +30% chance to fire two extra projectiles if you have 50 essence or more.
• Acolyte’s – Hitting the same enemy at least three times with the same cast grants +8% crit chance for four seconds.
• Initiate’s – 20% chance per hit to apply vulnerable (i.e., 20% increased damage taken).

Diablo 4 Necromancer Core skills

Blood Lance

Throw a lance that deals damage for three seconds to the target and other lanced enemies.

• Enhanced – Penetrates through enemies that are lanced.
• Paranormal – While at least two enemies or a boss are affected, gain +15% attack speed and Blood Lance’s cost is reduced by 2 essence.
• Supernatural – Cast Blood Lance eight times and your next use is guaranteed to overpower (i.e., deal bonus damage based on the sum of your current life and fortified life); also spawns a Blood Orb under the first enemy hit.

Blood Surge

Draw blood and expel an AoE nova; damage is increased by 10% per enemy drained, up to 50%.

• Enhanced – Heal for extra HP when four or more enemies are hit.
• Paranormal – While you’re healthy, enemies damage by Blood Surge grant one stack of Overwhelming Blood. At five stacks, your next cast overpowers.
• Supernatural – Each time an enemy is hit, gain fortify for 1% of your base life; +20% damage if your fortify is over 50% of your max HP.

Blight

Unleash a blight that leaves behind a defiled area.

• Enhanced – Slows enemies by 25%.
• Paranormal – 30% chance to immobilize for 1.5 seconds.
• Supernatural – You and your minions deal +15% damage to enemies within the Blight.

Sever

Your specter charges forward and returns to you.

• Enhanced – Damages enemies along its path for 25% of the initial damage.
• Paranormal – Every fourth casts applies vulnerable.
• Supernatural – +2% increased damage on impact for every minion that’s active.

Bone Spear

Conjure a bone spear that can pierce through enemies.

• Enhanced – Breaks into three shards when it is destroyed.
• Paranormal – +5% increased crit chance; if it lands a crit strike, it will fire two additional bone shards.
• Supernatural – Applies vulnerable for three seconds to the first enemy that’s hit.

Diablo 4 Necromancer Corpse/Macabre skills

Blood Mist

Become immune for three seconds; slows down your movement speed but partially heals you by damaging nearby enemies.

• Enhanced – Reduces the cooldown by two seconds when you cast a skill that overpowers.
• Dreadful – Fortifies you for a percentage of your base life each time it hits an enemy.
• Ghastly – Leave behind a corpse every one second.

Corpse Explosion

Detonate a corpse to deal damage to surrounding enemies.

• Enhanced – +15% explosion radius.
• Blighted – Becomes a darkness-infused skill; doesn’t explode but creates a miasma that deals shadow damage over six seconds.
• Plagued – +10% increased damage to those that are slowed, stunned, or vulnerable; bonuses can stack.

Bone Prison 

Create a prison made of bones that surrounds a target area for a time.

• Enhanced Bone Prison – +15 essence if an enemy is trapped; +5 more essence for each additional enemy.
• Dreadful – Gain fortify for 5% of your base life for each enemy that’s trapped.
• Ghastly – Make enemies inside the Bone Prison vulnerable.

Corpse Tendrils

Veins burst out of a corpse, pulling enemies and stunning them; does not consume the corpse.

• Enhanced – Enemies are slowed by 50% before being pulled.
• Blighted – 20% chance to create a Blood Orb.
• Plagued – Make enemies vulnerable for three seconds.

Bone Spirit 

Use all your remaining essence to conjure a Bone Spirit that seeks out enemies. Deals tremendous AoE damage, boosted further by how much remaining essence was spent.

• Enhanced – A critical hit reduces the cooldown by six seconds.
• Dreadful – Generate 30 essence over four seconds once it hits an enemy.
• Ghastly – +10% crit chance.

Diablo 4 Necromancer Curse skills

Iron Maiden 

Affected enemies take damage each time they deal direct damage.

• Enhanced – No longer costs essence; gain essence for each enemy that gets cursed; does not work on those already afflicted.
• Abhorrent – Heal for 5% of your max HP when an enemy dies while afflicted.
• Horrid – +15% Iron Maiden damage when at least three enemies are affected.

Decrepify

Slows targets and makes them deal less damage.

• Enhanced – Lucky Hit; 10% chance to stun afflicted enemies whenever they’re hit.
• Abhorrent – Lucky Hit; 15% chance to reduce cooldowns by one second when you hit afflicted foes.
• Horrid – Instantly kill hostiles at 10% life or less if you or your minions hit them while they’re affected by Decrepify; does not work on bosses.

Diablo 4 Necromancer Ultimate skills

Blood Wave 

Create a tidal wave that deals damage and knocks back enemies.

• Prime – Slow enemies down by 50% for four seconds.
• Supreme – Create three Blood Orbs as it travels.

Army of the Dead

Skeletons emerge for seven seconds and explode on surrounding enemies.

• Prime – 15% chance to leave a corpse behind after exploding.
• Supreme – Also raises your Skeletal Warriors and Mages.

Bone Storm

Create bones that swirl around you and your Golem, dealing damage to nearby enemies for 10 seconds.

• Prime – +15% damage reduction while Bone Storm is active.
• Supreme – +20% crit chance while Bone Storm is active.